Jul 30, 2014 2 min read

JEFFERSON – The Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority was selected to receive an award from the Water Works Operators’ Association of Pennsylvania for its success in optimizing its water treatment plant’s performance.

The authority will receive the Area Wide Optimization Program Award for the second year in a row at the association’s conference in State College Tuesday.

AWOP is a national filter plant optimization effort implemented by 21 states, the Environmental Protection Agency and Association of State Drinking Water Administrators.

The program challenges water treatment plants to reduce turbidity levels below those required by state and federal regulations. Turbidity, or cloudiness, in water can be caused by sand and dirt as well as bacteria and viruses. Removal of these particles is important in producing water free of dirt and microbes that can cause waterborne diseases.

The award recognizes outstanding efforts toward optimizing filter plant turbidity, taking into account compliance data provided by participating authorities to the state Department of Environmental Protection..

Southwestern receiving the award for the second year in a row is “remarkable,” considering the authority’s treatment plant is now undergoing an expansion, said Jack Golding, authority manager.

He credited the work of authority operations manager Tim Faddis and plant manager Tom Goughenour.

The authority is currently in the first phase of a treatment plant expansion project that will increase plant capacity from 7 million to 9.2 million gallons a day. The second phase of the project will increase the plant’s capacity from 9.2 million to 16.1 million gallons a day.

Golding said he will be accepting the award on behalf of the authority at Tuesday’s conference.